Prevailing Winds "For the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom . . ." 2 Cor. 3:17, TNIV

A reader notes that I sometimes use terms and phrases that are not terribly familiar to some people — and I’m sure T. would agree that it’s not because I’m really smart, but only because my interests, specific as they are, make some terms wearingly familiar to me. So I thought I’d include a brief definition of some words or phrases you’ll find in Prevailing Winds:

The Gospel — The truth that humankind is separated from a perfect God by our sins, but reconciled to Him through the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, in whom all who receive are counted innocent before God and receive eternal life.

Ontology — The inherent state of essence or being; for example, I am ontologically female. I am not ontologically a leader or a follower, Democrat or bluegrass lover.

Christian — Someone who has devoted her life to worship of and service to Jesus Christ, having accepted the Gospel message and thus been reconciled to Him. I am a Christian.

Trinity — The Christian belief that God exists equally and eternally in three Persons (three expressions of consciousness and being, not “three people”), the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, all of whom are “Lord” and worthy of devotion. It’s an extremely difficult concept, but the idea of one “What” and three “Who” comes reasonably close in describing it. I am a Trinitarian.

Evangelical — Sociologically and historically, Christians who represent that sector of the faith that believes in the necessity of a personal decision to accept Christ, a reliance on Scripture as our primary means of meeting Him, and the responsibility to share the Gospel throughout their communities and the world. If “evangelical” describes my relationship to Christ, then I am an evangelical. If it describes the behavior of most of His followers in the U.S., then I’d rather just say “Christian.”

Fundamentalist — Historically, one who adheres to the seven fundamentals, or foundational truths, of Biblical Christianity. These are generally thought to be the Deity of Christ, the primacy of Scripture, the Incarnation, the virgin birth, the atonement, the resurrection, and Christ’s personal second coming on this earth. I believe those things, but “fundamentalist” these days means all of those plus an ultra-conservative view of Scripture, disengagement with the world (unless through conservative politics), and a suspicion of “modernism” and academia.

Christianity — Sociologically, the religion of devotion to Christ and His teachings, often described as a five-point scale representing, in order of “conservative-to-liberal,” fundamentalism, evangelicalism, mainline denominations, theological liberalism, and what used to be called the “Death of God” movement, more correctly represented today by those who value Christ’s teachings, but distance themselves from the spiritual truth claims He made in the New Testament.

Reconstructionism — That movement within conservative theology that seeks to exercise “dominion” over all of the world’s institutions and structures in the name of Christ, generally to prepare the world for His second coming after a literal or metaphorical 1,000 year millennium (post-millennialism). Hallmarks of reconstructionism are a proud intolerance of “liberalism” and diversity, strict patriarchy, a fervent belief in the legal implementation of Mosaic Law, strict adherence to an unfettered free market, an emphasis on academics, and an a-millennial (millennium as metaphorical) or post-millennial eschatology (Jesus appearing after the millennium period ushered in by “dominionist” Christians). The founder of reconstructionism is generally thought to be R.J. Rushdoony, who, along with D. Chilton, Gary North, Greg Bahnsen and others, have greatly influenced Doug Wilson and the ministries of Christ Church. I am not a reconstructionist; in fact, I believe it to be a dangerous sort of fanaticism that bears little resemblance to Biblical Christianity.

Eschatology — The doctrines of the end times. Pre-millennialists believe that Christ will come, with or without a rapture of the Church, before the millennium begins. A- and post-millennialists are described above. Some pre-millennialists believe the Church will be raptured before the great Tribulation, others do not. I tend to be a pre-millennial, post-tribulationist (Jesus coming after the tribulation, before the millennium), but this is a mystery I’m frankly content to not fully understand. Which is good, because I don’t.

Egalitarian — Those who believe in the full equality of all people; i.e., that all people are equally beloved of God. In the Church, “egalitarianism” generally means those Christians who believe that the Gospel calls for full and complete access to positions of leadership by both women and men in church, society, and home. Based on my study of Scripture, I am an egalitarian and a feminist.

Complementarian — Christians who believe that men and women, while equal, have “complementary” roles (leadership and submissiveness, respectively) that are instituted in the Book of Genesis for all time. Those who believe that elders and pastors cannot be female, and that men and women have different roles in the home (again, male leadership and female submissiveness), are complementarians. I am not a complementarian, again based on my study of Scripture.

I hope this provides a good foundation for my discussion of faith and society in the 21st century, and I’m happy to answer any questions that I can.